From the director
Packed bags and a sparrow.
By Shari Chapman, Executive Director
I sat at Starbucks, staring out the window, unable to grasp a productive thought. I knew this feeling, and I didn't welcome its return. I was grieving a youth who just left Selah after being with us for over 100 days. I felt heartbroken, worried, and alone. An unwelcome feeling, yet a familiar one.
I remember the first time a youth left Selah and how my stomach churned when I saw the packed bags sitting there. I remember the tears welling up in my eyes as our staff helped pack the bags into the caseworker's car in between sweet goodbyes. As the car drove out of sight down Rt 47, I hurried to the bathroom. As the old wooden door closed, I leaned my back against the door, slid down, and sobbed. I distinctly remember thinking, "Is this it? They will come, make their way into my heart, then leave? Is this kind of heartbreak my new normal?"
This work doesn't get wrapped up in a pretty bow. It brings me to my knees in prayer daily.
Choosing to enter into hard and broken spaces means choosing the hard and the messy. This work doesn't get wrapped up in a pretty bow. It brings me to my knees in prayer daily. But isn't that the point? Romans 5 tells us that trials produce endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope. I thank God every day for a life that brings me to my knees.
As I continued to stare out the window with my Strawberry Refresher in hand, I was reminded of the old gospel hymn, His Eye Is on the Sparrow. This common bird, a sparrow, is watched over by God, so how much more can I trust Him to watch over the little and big kids who come and go from Selah? I'm still a work in progress, but God used this today to help break my spirit of fear. A sparrow.